Euro 2012 qualifying: Bulgaria 0 England 3

England battered Bulgaria to remain top of their Euro 2012 qualifying group, with a Wayne Rooney brace leading them to a 3-0 win in Sofia.

As expected, England handed a debut to Chris Smalling at right-back, where the 21-year-old has been so effective out of position for Manchester United.

The most surprising omission from Fabio Capello was Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard, ignored for competitive selection when available for the first time in four years.

After a very quiet start to the game, with neither side looking to grab it by the scruff of the neck, England stole an advantage out of nowhere after 12 minutes.

Following a corner, Gareth Barry slipped a clever pass through a disorganised mass of Bulgarian defenders into Bolton defender Gary Cahill, who managed to eke the ball between the goalkeeper Nikolay Mihailov’s legs with a good finish to mark his first international goal.

Rooney doubled England’s lead, nodding in a Stewart Downing corner on 21 minutes, with little resistance from the Bulgarian defence.

Despite England having dropped off totally, Rooney doubled his tally and killed the tie off on the break, when Young played a sublime pass through the legs of Ivan Ivanov for his club colleague to slot home easily at the far post on the stroke of half-time.